PUC Poised to Determine Expedited Procedure for Certain Changes to Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plans

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has received comments and reply comments from various parties on its April 1, 2011 Tentative Order regarding changes to electric distribution companies’ (“EDCs”) energy efficiency and conservation plans (“EE&C Plan”) under Act 129.  See 66 Pa.C.S. § 2806.1.

Currently, all proposed changes to an EDC’s EE&C Plan must be presented to and approved by the Commission through the filing of a petition for EE&C Plan modifications requesting that the Commission rescind and amend its prior order approving the plan.

The Commission in its April 1, 2011 Tentative Order advanced for comment a proposed expedited process for approval of minor EE&C Plan changes that it felt could benefit energy efficiency and conservation programs as a whole.  The proposed alternative process for approving minor changes to EE&C Plans is as follows:

The Commission will delegate its authority to approve minor changes to the staff of its Bureau of Conservation, Economics and Energy Planning, with assistance from the staffs of the Bureau of Fixed Utility Services and the Law Bureau.

EDCs intending to file a minor plan revision for Commission approval must serve a copy of proposed plan revisions on the Office of Consumer Advocate, the Office of Small Business Advocate and the Commission’s Office of Trial Staff as well as all parties of record at least ten (10) days prior to its filing with the Commission.  Once filed, the revised plan must also be served on the statutory parties listed above as well as all parties of record.

All interested parties will have ten (10) days to file comments on the proposed plan changes.  All parties will then have five (5) days to file reply comments.

Commission staff will have ten (10) days from the close of the reply comment period to issue a Secretarial letter approving or disapproving some or all of the proposed minor changes with an explanation for its rulings.  Commission staff can also refer some or all of the proposed revisions to the Commission’s Office of Administrative Law Judge for hearings and a recommended decision.

Parties are then given ten (10) days to appeal the staff action in accordance with 52 Pa. Code § 5.44.

Importantly, and recognizing that parties may have significant interests in EE&C Plan changes, the Commission proposed to limit the approval authority delegated to its staff to the following minor EE&C Plan changes:

Elimination of a measure that is under performing or has exhausted its budget amount;

The transfer of funds from one measure to another measure within the same customer class; and

A change in the conditions of a measure, such as the addition of new qualifying equipment or a change in the rebate amount that does not increase the overall costs to the customer class.

All proposed changes that do not fit these three categories will be handled through the previous approval process.